The £66m investment is expected to secure 190 jobs and create 40 new ones

The maker of Shreddies and Cheerios has been given the go-ahead for a major expansion of its Wiltshire factory.

Cereal Partners UK was granted permission by the council this week for a £66m extension of its Staverton plant near Trowbridge. The investment is expected to secure 190 existing roles at the site and create 40 new jobs.

Cereal Partners UK has been a major employer in Wiltshire for nearly 30 years, producing well-known breakfast cereals such as Shredded Wheat and Shreddies in the county.

Wiltshire Council said the investment would “enhance the site’s capacity and efficiency” and allow the company to respond more effectively to changing consumer demand while supporting its future growth.

The Staverton expansion comes 15 months after Cereal Partners UK confirmed production at its plant in Bromborough, on the Wirral, would end and be re-located to Wiltshire under plans.

Councillor Helen Belcher, cabinet member for economic development, said: “This is a positive development for Wiltshire, representing a significant investment in the local economy. It secures existing jobs at the Staverton site while also creating opportunities for future employment as the business grows.

“Cereal Partners UK has been an established part of the local economy for many years, and this investment demonstrates continued confidence in Wiltshire as a place to do business.

“Enhancing the facility’s capacity and efficiency will help support the company’s long-term sustainability while contributing to economic growth in the Trowbridge area.”

Cereal Partners UK is part of Cereal Partners Worldwide, which was formed in 1990 as a joint venture between Nestlé S.A. and American food giant General Mills.

The UK division has established itself as the second largest manufacturer, with over 25 per cent of a market that’s worth more than £1.3bn.

Its brands include Shredded Wheat – first introduced more than a century ago – and Shreddies, which was first produced in 1953.

Qualcomm shares closed lower Tuesday after an unusual sequence of intraday events left the stock down more than 1.5% on the day, whipsawed by a Wall Street Journal report suggesting SpaceX had built a prototype device using its Snapdragon chips, followed by a swift denial from Elon Musk that wiped out a sharp midday rally and sent the stock back into negative territory before the closing bell.

Shares of the San Diego-based wireless chipmaker closed at $181.92, down $2.87, or 1.55%, marking the fourth consecutive session of losses for a stock that has been under sustained pressure from a combination of investor rotation out of technology names, removal from key Russell growth indexes and lingering questions about how quickly the company can ramp its newly announced data center chip business. The stock fell an additional 17 cents to $181.61 in after-hours trading.

The Wall Street Journal reported during Tuesday’s session that SpaceX had a prototype of a handset-like device, sending Qualcomm shares sharply higher in intraday trading as investors speculated the Snapdragon chip family could be central to any consumer device produced by the world’s most valuable startup. The gains evaporated when Musk called the WSJ story “utterly false,” denying that any such device relied on Qualcomm components.

The episode added another layer of volatility to a stock that has already endured a dramatic round trip in 2026. Qualcomm reached an all-time high of $259.92 on May 29, propelled by a well-received investor day at which the company laid out an aggressive diversification strategy built around artificial intelligence and data center chips. The stock has since fallen more than 30% from that peak, closing Tuesday roughly $78 below its all-time high even as the company’s fundamental business and long-term targets have not materially changed in the weeks since.

Qualcomm’s 2026 Investor Day, held in late June, was the defining corporate event for the stock in recent months. The company unveiled its new Dragonfly C1000 data center central processing unit, revealed a strategic multi-generation supply agreement with Meta Platforms as the first major customer for the new chip, and told analysts it was targeting more than $15 billion in data center AI revenue by fiscal 2029, up from a smaller initial estimate, as part of a broader goal of reaching $40 billion in non-handset chip revenue by the same year. That $40 billion figure represented nearly double the company’s prior projection for non-smartphone revenue and came alongside a forecast for $18 in adjusted earnings per share by fiscal 2029.

Morgan Stanley, which had previously maintained a cautious stance on the stock, turned less pessimistic following the investor day, raising its price target while describing the data center chip ambition as a potentially significant long-term growth driver even while maintaining a neutral rating overall. Bank of America raised its target to $220 from $195, UBS lifted its target to $235 from $170 and RBC Capital raised its estimate to $250 from $175 following the same event. Benchmark maintained a buy rating with a $300 price target. Mizuho raised its target to $210 from $170. The average 12-month price target across analysts covering the stock now sits at approximately $215, implying meaningful upside from current levels.

Those targets were set before Qualcomm’s stock declined so sharply from its May highs, a retreat driven in part by a broader rotation out of semiconductor and technology names that has pressured many high-multiple chip stocks in June. Qualcomm was also removed from several Russell growth and defensive indexes, reducing automatic buying pressure from passive and index-tracking institutional investors who had previously been required to hold shares in proportion to the company’s index weighting.

The company’s most recent quarterly results, covering the fiscal second quarter, showed continued momentum in its diversification strategy even as the broader handset market remained subdued. Qualcomm reported revenue of $10.60 billion against analyst estimates of $10.59 billion, with adjusted earnings per share of $2.65 beating the consensus estimate of $2.55 to $2.56. Automotive revenue surged 38% year-over-year to $1.3 billion, while Internet of Things revenue grew 9% to $1.7 billion, both segments central to the company’s push to reduce its dependence on smartphone chip sales, which have faced pressure from customers, including Samsung and Apple, exploring alternatives to the Snapdragon lineup for some of their devices.

Google reportedly selected MediaTek rather than Qualcomm or Broadcom to help build its next-generation TPUv9 artificial intelligence chip, known internally as Triggerfish, according to reporting from GF Securities, a development that dampened some of the enthusiasm surrounding Qualcomm’s data center ambitions even as the company has sought to position itself as a credible alternative to Nvidia’s dominant GPU-centric approach to AI inference computing.

Qualcomm’s next earnings report is scheduled for August 5, when the company is expected to provide its first detailed guidance update since the investor day and give analysts a clearer read on how the Meta Platforms supply agreement and the Dragonfly C1000 data center chip are progressing toward meaningful commercial revenue. Third-quarter guidance for automotive revenue pointed to 50% year-over-year growth, suggesting that segment at least remains on a sharply positive trajectory even as the data center opportunity requires more time to develop.

The stock’s current price-to-earnings ratio of approximately 13.7 times trailing earnings has drawn attention from value-oriented investors who view the multiple as low relative to the growth profile the company is projecting for 2029, particularly if the data center chip program delivers even a fraction of the revenue targets management outlined at the investor day. The company also maintains a 23-consecutive-year streak of dividend increases, with its current yield of approximately 1.94% providing income support for holders waiting for the stock’s recovery from its post-peak slide.

While up the headline confidence level for Wales is below the UK as a whole

Business confidence in Wales rose in June but remains below the UK as a whole, shows latest research from Lloyds Bank

Its business barometer shows companies in Wales reported higher confidence in their own trading outlook month-on-month, up 13 points at 48%. When taken alongside their optimism in the economy, up five points to 16%, this gives a headline confidence reading of 32% (up from 23% in May). For the UK as a whole overall confidence was down 3% to 44%.

elsh firms reported strong customer demand (89%) as the key driver of confidence in their own trading outlook A net balance of 20% of businesses in the country also expect to increase staff levels over the next year, up two points on last month. Business confidence in Wales now sits below the 12-month average of 42%, with its highest figure of 76% in July last year.

Looking ahead to the next six months, Welsh businesses identified their top target areas for growth as introducing new technology such as AI or automation (52%), entering new markets (36%) and investing in their team, for example through training (33%).

Nathan Morgan, area director for Wales at Lloyds, said: “It’s encouraging to see confidence among Welsh businesses rise this month, with firms feeling more positive about their own trading outlook and the wider economy.

“That optimism is being backed by clear plans for growth, with businesses looking to embrace new technology, enter new markets and invest in their teams.

“With hiring intentions also edging up, there are positive signs of momentum across Wales. We’ll continue to support Welsh businesses as they adapt and pursue new opportunities.”

Business confidence rose across six of the 12 UK regions and nations in June, with the south west of England seeing the biggest improvement on May, up 22% jump to 44%. The East Midlands had the highest headline confidence reading of 56%.

On the UK position, Amanda Murphy, chief executive for Lloyds Business and Commercial Banking, said: “Confidence has edged down this month, and that reflects what we’re hearing directly from businesses. Many are still dealing with a mix of higher costs, uncertain demand and a wider global backdrop that feels difficult to read. That is weighing on decision making, particularly for firms that are focused on the UK market and have fewer ways to offset those pressures.

“However, this is not a picture of businesses stepping back altogether. Trading outlook remains relatively steady and we continue to see firms looking for new opportunities, even if investment plans have become more cautious. Businesses have shown over time that they can adapt in tough conditions, but for many the priority is managing costs and maintaining stability rather than pushing for growth.

U.S. stocks advanced to close out a blockbuster quarter, marked by sharp gains in the technology sector on expectations for strong spending for artificial intelligence. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq logged their best quarterly performances since 2020.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 136.46 points, or 0.26% to 52319.20 on Tuesday. The S&P 500 rose 58.93 points, or 0.79%, to 7499.36, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 393.58 points, 1.52% to 26213.72. According to preliminary data, there were 1285 advancing issues and 1477 declining issues on the NYSE.